The US Department of Agriculture is providing $ 3 million to help producers plant bee forage. The intent is to improve the health of the bees because beekeepers are losing an unprecedented number of honey bee hives each year. Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, technical and financial help will go to producers in South and North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. Bruce, South Dakota honey producer and beekeeper Richard Adee says pollination is the critical factor due to colony collapse disease.
Adee says South Dakota has some advantages in that USDA Ag Research Service assistance is readily available for honey producers.
Adee says beekeepers will be heading South and to California soon to start raising queens and making up their bees for the coming season. He says one major concern is the drought hitting California.
Honeybee pollination is estimated to support more than $ 15 billion worth of agricultural production annually at the farm gate. Honey production brings in $ 300 to $ 400 million dollars.
